Another key feature that e-commerce provides is its global
reach, or the number of potential consumers with the ability to fulfill a
transaction. E-commerce technology
permits commercial transactions to cross cultural and national boundaries far
more conveniently and cost effectively than in traditional commerce. E-commerce
also extends local markets to global markets, dramatically increasing a
companies number of potential customers.
As a result, the potential market size for e-commerce merchants is roughly
equal to the size of the world's online population which is estimated to be
more than two billion and involves millions of businesses worldwide.
Before e-commerce, most companies operated on a local market basis. Larger companies were afforded the luxury of regional and national markets. However, global market reach was experienced only by a few of the largest firms in existence. Essentially, e-commerce has created the possibility for a market equivalent to the global population that is available to even the smallest of businesses.
In contrast, most traditional commerce is local or regional
that involves local merchants or national merchants with local outlets.
Television, radio stations and newspapers for instance, are primarily local and
regional institutions with limited, but powerful, national networks that can
attract a national audience but not easily cross national boundaries to a
global audience. The internet that can be reached globally enable customers to
buy products from another country.